Enigma
by OneDreamADay
Summary: It's hard growing up with a brother who is convinced he's a time traveling alien. AU


**So yet another prompt fill. This one being: "**_John...well, John Pond, I guess. Or John Williams, if you will. Basically, the Doctor, in reality, is the son of Amy and Rory and a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Bonus points if River is his sister_." **And I liked the idea too much to pass it up; feel like I could've done a lot better with it.**

**I really need to stay away from the kinkmeme on LJ because it provides so many prompts I want to fill...**

* * *

River thinks her brother is a bit off.

She is seven and he is ten and they pretend to be time travelers. John picks up an alias and wants to be called 'The Doctor' and that they are married. River thinks it's a bit weird to act like you're married to your brother (even if he is adopted), but it's only for play, so she doesn't mind at all.

They go around pretend to save the universe (sometimes they always don't succeed, but not always) and sometimes it becomes a big family adventure when he gets Mum and Dad to join in.

But the time she is ten and he is thirteen and they are still playing these games, she's knows it's something more than him being 'off'.

She tries to complain to her parents, but they smile weakly and tell her to go along with it.

He doesn't have many friends, other than Harold Saxon, who lives down the street and even then he only comes for the occupational visit. Or when John rings him up, wanting his help in putting together whatever electronic thingamabob he has found that day.

Of course, their younger brother, Anthony, thinks it's a fun and games and it's easy to direct John's attention to the five-year-old when she doesn't want to deal with her older brother.

She's secretly glad he's adopted because it's easy to say she not really related to him and his craziness doesn't run the family. She's pretty sure her parents would kill her if they catch her saying that, so she makes sure they are never in earshot when she does.

She feels like a horrible sister whenever she says this and after a year, she stops telling others this altogether.

**oOo**

When she's twelve, River Melody Williams is known as the girl with the mad older brother.

'Your brother is really weird.' A friend tell River, just after her fourteenth birthday party. She says nothing, but gives a hum of acknowledgment. Apparently not happy with this, her friend continues.

'My mum says he's really nutter and he belongs in the crazy house.' There are a few giggles from the other girls and she wonders if the only reason they came to her party was to see her brother.

She can see him outside with their mum, hands dancing with excitement about something. He's trying to pull her attention to something, but their mum is distracted by Anthony, who is going around pelting people with water balloons. ('No, Anthony, you can't do that. No, don't listen to your brother. No one here is a secretly a lava monster.')

'My mum said that she saw him in the supermarket the other day and you wouldn't believe what the retard was doing-'

River doesn't know what she was going to stay after that= doesn't care, really- because she's just slapped her friend across the face as hard as she could.

There's a moments of stunned silence. River's hand smarts a bit, and suddenly there's pushing, hair-pulling and punches are being thrown and someone's yelling. She feels her being lifted off the girl and pulled into a tight hug. She's looks up to see that it's John who is holding her.

He takes in the sight of her bloodied nose and bruised lip and turns to her company, mouth set in a thin line. 'I think it's best if you lot go home now.'

The girl's mother demands a apology, but River refuses to give one. 'Mummy, why should I say sorry when I have nothing to be sorry for?'

Later that night, before bed, John comes in to give her a hug and called her his 'brave, silly River'- a title she has learned he uses for her whenever she has done something he deems reckless or unnecessary.

She never mentions the bullying at school- least not while John's around and really, it's nothing she can't handle on her own. Name calling and the notes stuck on her locker or her desk are easy to deal with.

Whenever her older brother does ask about school, River smiles and tells him everything is fine.

**OoO**

River comes home to find that her brother has dismantled the television, wires everywhere; a look of heavy concentration of his face. River has to call his name three times to get his attention.

He frowns when River asks why didn't he go to school. 'I don't need to go to some human school, River. I'm already brilliant.' He says in a very matter of fact way.

This has become a recent thing; John's refusal to go to school. So he stays at home instead and tinkers with the electronics in the house, driving his parents crazy because they'll find that he's taken something and try to 'fix' it. He's very good at repairing items as good as new, provided he doesn't get distracted and hoard the item in question.

She can hear their dad become exasperated because John has taken apart the toaster, taking the time to study the parts.

'John, can you please put that back together? I'd be really grand to have that working and in one piece tomorrow.'

'Just a second, Rory; I'm busy.'

It's easy to tell when her brother is slipping further into his delusions because he'll start addressing their parents by their given names.

Her father tries to show that it doesn't annoy him, but he never really hides it very well.

**OoO**

After John graduates high school, their parents put him on medication to help with his delusions. River doesn't think it helps because because it makes John very irritable and he snaps at everyone. Insomnia kicks in often and he complains constantly about being bored and how slow times moves.

Of course, if you pretty much lived in your own head most of the time, real life would be boring, River thinks.

Her parents go out of town for a few days and River is in charge of making sure Anthony goes to school on time.

Anthony, as always, puts up a fight because he's not a morning person and John's not really helping at all because he's doing something that apparently requires her attention; he's all but screaming at her.

'River, come look at this!'

'River, come help me with something!'

'River! I can't find my screwdriver!'

'Why on earth do you think I know where the bloody thing is!?' She snaps back at him and it's angrily than she wants it to be. John even looks a bit shocked and sulks off in not quite a huff.

River knows he'll probably be in his room pouting for a bit and it's true. After she's dropped off Anthony school she goes to John's room, where he's got a massive collection of wires on his bed and he's analyzing them carefully. She knocks on his door to get his attention, which it does. John looks up at her, glares and goes back to his wires.

Considering she expected him to completely ignore her, it's a good start.

She joins him on his bed and attempt to help him untangle some wires (he pushes them closer to him so she gives up rather quickly on that.) After a strained silence, she apologizes.

He doesn't reply for a while, which makes River wonder if maybe he's gonna give her the silent treatment.

But finally 'It's okay' is heard and they smile.

**oOo**

His choice of clothing are all over the place, and tend to fix his personality; loud, eccentric and maybe a bit out of date. (Okay a lot out of date most days) One day it's a fedora and a multicolored scarf. Two weeks later, it's a bow tie that has his fascination. And a fez, because fezzes are cool too, apparently.

River smirks at him outside his bedroom door, swatting the fez off his head. 'You have a horrible taste in clothes. That bow tie is so old-fashioned.'

He blinks at her, trying to figure out if she's joking or not. After a while, he decides she is and smiles, tapping her on her nose.

'Bow ties are cool, River.'

**OoO**

Her name is Donna Noble and River likes her the minute they meet.

She's loud and brash and rather forgetful at times- which is how she and John met in the first place after he helps her home when she forgets the way.

She almost manages to keep her brother a bit grounded in reality, more so than their parents or the meds or River herself and she can't help but be a bit envious about that.

Despite Donna's constant forgetfulness (they are days when River and John visit and have to re-introduce themselves to her) she and John get along fairly well - more so than with Harry, where there is a somewhat of a love/hate friendship going on there.

Even though their mother teases the pair quite a bit, the two insist that they are never, ever going to date.

River thinks that it's a bit of a shame because they really do make a cute pair.

**oOo**

There are days- many, many days- where her brother absolutely drives her crazy River sometimes willingly goes along with his delusions because it's easier than telling him nothing he believes in is real.

She's a bit jealous too because John is often very obvious to just how much he stand out.

But she's able to appreciate, at times, the way he is able to view the world

How he's able to look at every star and come up with a race and language and a whole history for them.

How's he able to see the good is almost everyone he meets and can manage to charm anyone despite his quirks.

The way he can smile at almost anything and it can light up a room.

In the end, however strange and off- putting he might seem to other people, River doesn't think she can imagine John any other way.


End file.
